One important feature of a cable television system is the capability of a system operator to effectively provide information to subscribers. Video barker channels are one example of such information. For example, when a subscriber selects a channel which he or she is not able to view, a six megahertz video barker channel may be tuned which provides a message such as shown in FIG. 1 on the subscriber's television to indicate that the selected channel is not available for viewing. A subscriber may not be able to view a selected channel for a number of reasons. For example, the selected channel may have a pay-per-view event which the subscriber has not purchased. Alternatively, the channel may be a premium channel for which the subscriber is not authorized. The channel may also be under parental control or may simply not be available in the cable system. Each of these reasons may prevent a subscriber from viewing a selected channel.
In prior art systems, the same video barker channel is typically tuned for each of the above situations. Accordingly, a generic message such as that shown in FIG. 1 is provided. Thus, although a subscriber is provided an indication that he or she cannot view a selected channel, no specific reason is provided. Of course, an operator could provide separate barker channels for each of these situations and others. However, the use of separate six megahertz video barker channels to provide such information reduces the number of channels available for other programming.